Automatic aerosol dispensing device



June 20, 1961 G. J. MANHEIMER AUTOMATIC AEROSOL DISPENSING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 2, 1959 INVENTOR 50/946 fMnA/HE/MEE June 20, 1961 G. J. MANHEIMER AUTOMATIC AEROSOL DISPENSING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 2, 1959 VENTOR fiAN/lf/Nf/Q A G E N 1'.

55019661? 79 7Q. Sid/M United States PatentO AUTOMATIC AEROSOL DISPENSING DEVICE George J. Manheiiner, 129 Rose Lane,

W New Hyde Park, NY. Filed Feb. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 790,660 2 Claims. (Cl. 222-480) The present invention relates in general to dispensing devices and more particularly to automatic dispensing devices for dispensing the contents of Aerosol cartridges.

An object of the invention is to provide a means for automatically dispensing the contents of an Aerosol cartridge.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing means for an Aerosol cartridge which can be turned on and otf, at will.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic dispensing means for an Aerosol cartridge which can be mounted on a door and which is operated by the closing of the door.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automatic dispensing means for an Aerosol cartridge which can be adjusted so as to accommodate various thicknesses of door moldings.

To these ends the invention contemplates the use of an Aerosol cartridge held in a case which is mounted on a door. Pivotally mounted at the top of the case is an L-shaped lever which has one end pivotally connected to a plunger. The other end of the lever has an adjustable spring biased screw fastened thereto. The free end of the plunger is cup shaped so as to fit over the nozzle cap of the Aerosol cartridge. There is an annular groove above the cupped end of the plunger for nesting a pivotally connected shutofi arm.

Upon the closing of the door upon which the case is mounted the screw head will come into contact with the molding positioned above the door.. With the shutoif arm in the open or operative position the spring biased screw will exert a force against the top of the L-shaped lever causing it to rotate about its pivot point. The lower end of the lever'being connected to the plunger will upon rot-ation move the plunger in a'downward movement. The downward movement of the plunger will, in turn, depress the nozzle cap of the Aerosol cartridge thereby releasing a measured amount of the contents of the cartridge since the cartridge has a metered valve built into its release mechanism.

The invention has other objects and advantages which will appear from the following description of a particular embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a particular embodiment of the invention mounted upon a closed door which opens inwardly with the shutoif arm in a closed position;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the invention taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1 but with the shutoff arm in an open position;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the invention, as shown in FIGURE 1, taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the invention, as shown in FIGURE 2, taken along line 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the invention when it is mounted in an alternate position upon a door which opens outwardly;

FIGURE 6 shows a front view of the invention as shown in FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the invention when the door upon which it is mounted is in an opened position.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

With reference to the drawings, my invention comlice prises, in general, an Aerosol cartridge 1 which is mounted inside of a case 2 and held in position by a spring clip 3. The Aerosol cartridge is of the class of cartridges which are filled with either insecticides, mothproofing ingredients or deodorizers and comes equipped with a metering nozzle 4 attached to it. The metering nozzle allows a measured spray of the contents of the cartridge upon the depression of the nozzle cap 5.

The case 2 is mounted near the top of a door 7 by atfixing the case 2 to the door 7 by means of screws 6. The case 2 is formed from sheet metal so as to enclose the Aerosol cartridge 1 as well as to have a pair of mounting flanges. At the top of the case 2 formed integrally therewith is a pair of juxtapositioned protruding flanges which form a slot 8 therein. Within the slot 8 is pivotally connected an L-shaped lever 9. At the bottom of the lever 9 is a pivotally connected plunger 10. The bottom of the plunger 10 has a cup shape 11 and machined so as to be a press fit when placed over the nozzle cap 5. -By gripping the cap 5 the cup 11 can orient the spray from the nozzle 4 so as to spray through the opening 12 which is cut in the case 2.

Directly above the cup 11 of the plunger 10 is an annular groove 13. The groove 13 is so positioned that when the plunger 10 is in its relaxed or inoperative position a stop arm 14 can nest therein by virtue of a slot 15 which is notched therein. The stop arm 14 is pivotally connected to the top of the case 2 and is U channeled in shape for added strength. The rear of the stop arm 14 protrudes through the slot which is in the front of the case 2.

At the top of the lever 9 there is an adjustable screw 18 which is biased by a spring 19. The screw 18 passes through a loose fitting hole which is in the top of the lever 9 and can be adjusted by a nut 20 which is screwed on the rear of the screw 18. The screw 18 is adjustable so that it can be made to protrude in front of the lever 9 in difierent lengths thereby allowing the invention to be mounted upon doors having varying thicknesses of moldings. The spring 19 besides biasing the screw 18 so that it will be returned to its original position will also allow the screw 18 to be pushed inwardly without the lever-9 rotating whenever the lever 9 and the plunger 10 are in a locked or inoperative position.

Referring to FIGURE 1 it is seen that the invention is mounted upon a door 7 which opens into a room. The case 2 holds an Aerosol cartridge 1 which is inactivated because the stop arm 14 is in a locked or closed position. The stop arm 14 locks the plunger 10 and the lever 9, as shown in FIGURE 3, and prevents their moving even when the head of the screw 18 comes in contact with the molding, which is above the door 7, upon the closing of the door 7. The screw 18 can move without moving the lever 9 because the force being exerted upon the screw head is taken up by the biasing spring 19. By the stop arm 14 locking the actuating mechanism the nozzle cap 5 of the cartridge 1 is kept from being depressed and actuated upon the door 7 being closed. Thus the operator of the dispensing device can control the device so as to be operative or inoperative according to his wants or needs.

Referring to FIGURE 2 it is seen that when the stop arm 14 is in the open or operating position as shown in FIGURE 4 the force exerted upon the screw 18, when the screw comes in contact with the molding upon the closing of the door 7, is transmitted to the L-shaped lever 9. The lever 9 pivots about its pivot pin 21 and thereby depresses the plunger 10 which is pivotally attached to the lower end of the lever 9 by means of a tongue and groove joint and pivot pin 22. The plunger 10 by being depressed in turn depresses the nozzle cap 5 on the cartridge 1. The depressed nozzle thereupon releases a spray through the nozzle 4, the spray being made up of the partial contents of the ingredients contained within the Aerosol cartridge 1. The spray passes into the room after first passing through the opening 12 which is in the front of the case 2. Upon the measured amount of the spray being released the metering valve in the nozzle cap 5 will automatically shut off the spray even though the nozzle cap 5 is still in the depressed position. Upon the nozzle cap 5 being returned to its relaxed position the metering valve will again be placed in a position for allowing another measured amount of spray to be released upon depressing the nozzle cap 5.

Referring to FIGURE 5 it is readily seen that the lever 9 can be mounted within the slot 8 in an alternate position. This alternate position can be attained by virtue of the pivotal mounting hole 23 having been placed therein. This alternate position has to be utilized whenever the invention is mounted upon a door which opens outwardly from a room. A bracket 24 is provided for actuating purposes on an outwardly opening door to replace the molding which is correctly positioned for actuating purposes on an inwardly opening door. The bracket 24 is positioned either on the molding itself or on an adjacent surface which is conveniently situated for the actuating purposes.

Referring to FIGURE 7 it is seen that when the door 7 is in an open position the screw 18 is held in a substantially level position so as to be in position for engagement with the molding upon contact therewith. The level position is maintained by virtue of the heel of the lever 9 resting upon the bottom of the groove 25 of the plunger 10.

Whenever the contents of the Aerosol cartridge 1 is emptied it can readily be replaced with a full cartridge by releasing the spring clip 3 and removing the empty cartridge and replacing it with a full cartridge. The spring clip 3 upon being replaced will hold the new cartridge firmly and positioned in height. The invention, can be mounted upon bathroom doors, using cartridges containing deodorizers, on closet doors using cartridges containing mothproofing ingredients and upon doors in sick rooms using cartridges containing medicinal ingredients or disinfectants. Either entering a room and closing the door or opening and closing a closet door will automatically release a measured amount of the ingredients contained in the Aerosol cartridges, in a spray form, without any additional aid as long as the stop arm 14 is in the open or operative position.

Although I have described my invention with a certain degree of particularity, it is. understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic dispensing device comprising, in combination, an Aerosol cartridge having a metering nozzle, a formed hollow case which encloses said Aerosol cartridge, a releasable retaining means attached to said case for retaining said cartridge in a fixed relationship to said case, means for mounting said case to a door, a plunger having one end cup shaped for receiving and position ing said metering nozzle, an annular groove above said cup shaped end of said plunger, an L-shaped lever pivotally attached to the top of said case at the levers fulcrum point, one end of said lever being pivotally attached to the other end of said plunger, a large beaded screw mounted through a hole in the other end of said lever, a

spring located about said screw and positioned between said screw head and said lever, an adjusting nut fastened to the threaded end of said screw and a stop arm having one end pivotally attached to the top of said case, said stop arm having a slot positioned near its other end for engaging said annular groove of said plunger to deactivate said plunger.

2. An automatic dispensing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein an activating bracket is attached to a surrounding surface of the door for engaging said screw head upon the closing of said door.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,137,632 Keating Apr. 27, 1915 2,534,464 Marini et a1. Dec. 19, 1950 2,728,608 Marini Dec. 27, 1955 2,795,799 Dickerman June 18, 1957 2,817,560 Barnard et al. Dec. 24, 1957 2,821,436 Wenner Jan. 28, 1958 

